Vancouver Canucks’ Elias Pettersson, from Sweden, left, celebrates his goal against the Calgary Flames, with Christopher Tanev, during second period NHL action in Calgary, Saturday, Dec. 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Larry MacDougal

Canucks Report: Markstrom leads the way

Their 2018 may have ended with a whimper – but December as a whole provided a nice bounce back for the Vancouver Canucks.

After a dismal, injury-riddled 3-8-3 November had some fans turning their thoughts toward June’s NHL entry draft (in Vancouver), the Canucks went 8-5-1 in December, finishing 2018 with a level 19-19-4 record – and find themselves just two points out of the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.

You could probably pencil in the nifty Pettersson (17 points in 14 games) for this award each month for years to come. He was named the league’s rookie of the month for December and will appear in the league’s all-star game. But the nod for a December to remember this time goes to Markstrom. The lanky Swedish backstop was a stellar 8-1-0 in December, with a microscopic 1.66 GAA and a tidy .943 save percentage. From splitting the crease with Nilsson early, Markstrom now has a firm grip on the No. 1 goaltending spot.

Best goal

Who else but Pettersson? He turned Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne inside out on a slick penalty-shot goal on Dec. 6.

Biggest surprise

Doubling up on his monthly awards, Markstrom’s stellar December earns the honours here. If he continues to play at or near that level, the playoffs aren’t a pipe dream for Vancouver.

Biggest disappointment

With a nod to the departing Nilsson, Schaller is another repeat winner here. He wasn’t signed to be a 50-goal man, but not producing at all isn’t acceptable.

Vancouver signed an extension deal with its AHL club, the Utica Comets, ending speculation the Comets might end up in Abbotsford. On the ice, the Comets sport a 17-16-2-1 record and sit fourth in the league’s North Division. Veteran minor leaguer Reid Boucher (24 GP, 16-13-29) leads the Comets in scoring. Zack MacEwen (35 GP, 13-14-27) may well earn a callup to the big club this season. Top defence prospect Olli Juolevi was lost for the season after knee surgery. Demko (15 GP, 7-5-1, 2.63 GAA, .909 save percentage) has played well since returning from concussion issues.

Coming this month

The Canucks play nine times in January, opening on the road with games in Ottawa (Jan. 2), Montreal (Jan. 3) and Toronto (Jan. 5) before returning home for an extended homestand. Arizona (Jan. 10), Florida (Jan. 13), Edmonton (Jan. 16), Buffalo (Jan. 18), Detroit (Jan. 20) and Carolina (Jan. 23) all visit Vancouver this month – a month that will go a long way to determining if the Canucks are playoff-bound or again dreaming of draft lottery luck.